adelgid

a·del·gid

(ə-dĕl′jĭd)

Any of various aphidlike insects of the family Adelgidae that infest conifers and usually secrete a waxy or woolly covering.

[From New Latin Adelgidae, family name, from Adelgēs, type genus, from -adelges (interpreted as "suckers"), in French Phytadelges, former adelgid family name (phyt(o)- + -adelges, literally "plant-suckers"), and French Zoadelges, former family of hemipterans including the bedbug (zo(o)- + -adelges, literally "animal-suckers"), both coined by French zoologist André Marie Constant Duméril (1774-1860), from adelgein, probably misreading of Greek amelgein, to milk, suck up, drain, drink; see melg- in Indo-European roots, or possibly misreading of athelgein, a rare verb said to mean the same thing as amelgein in a 4th-century ad Greek dictionary.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Noun

adelgid - any of various insects that feed and form galls on conifers

plant louse, louse - any of several small insects especially aphids that feed by sucking the juices from plants

Adelgidae, family Adelgidae - plant lice

Adelges piceae, balsam woolly aphid - a variety of adelgid

Adelges abietis, spruce gall aphid - a variety of adelgid

pine leaf aphid, Pineus pinifoliae - a variety of adelgid

woolly adelgid - an insect that feeds on hemlocks; its egg sacs are small fuzzy white balls like artificial snow on a Christmas tree

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References in periodicals archive ?

Disruptions like that--as well as from wildfire, changing land use and increased development--provide openings for invasive species and pathogens, such as Japanese barberry shrubs that are favored by Lyme disease-carrying ticks, the hemlock woolly adelgid, and the emerald ash borer.

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The hemlock woolly adelgid, a sap-sucking relative of the aphid, is a big threat to the species, and the shrubs may need to be treated with horticultural oils to prevent infestation.

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The hemlock woolly adelgid, an aphid-like insect native to Asia, now infests 43 New York counties.

HOW CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTS NEW YORK'S SPECIES: Are Fall Colors at Risk?

The groupings of Hemlock may hinder the rapid spread of the Woolly Adelgid by limiting the contact between individuals.

Geological Sciences

A forestry technician works under a mature hemlock stand in New Germany State Park, Maryland, as part of a study to evaluate canopy penetration of an aerially applied fungal pathogen for the hemlock woolly adelgid, which is killing hemlock in the eastern U.S.

Beyond the words: images of agricultural and biological engineering

I read with interest Nicolas Brulliard's article in the Spring issue of the magazine about the hemlock woolly adelgid attacking eastern hemlock trees in Shenandoah National Park ["Saving Goliath"].

Hope for trees

Currently, the hemlock woolly adelgid is attacking hemlock stands across North America, and the most effective solution is a combination of the neonicotinoids imidacloprid and dinotefuran, Kreutzweiser said.

Use caution banning pesticide: researcher: honeybee killer can have practical applications

Trunk injection of imidacloprid was conducted using the Mauget system on Eastern hemlocks, Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carriere (Pinales: Pinaceae), to determine its effectiveness on the hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand (Aphidomorpha: Adelgidae) (Eisenback et al.

Trunk injection of systemic insecticides to control stem and leaf gall wasps, Josephiella species (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae), on Chinese banyan (Rosales: Moraceae) in Hawaii

The woolly adelgid has chewed its way up the crest of the Appalachian Mountains from the Carolinas to Canada.

A tiny fly could help save Eastern hemlock forests

Sasajiscymnus tsugae (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) has been reared as a predator that specifically targets the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA, Hemiptera: Adelgidae: Adelges tsugae), a very destructive pest of the Eastern and Carolina Hemlock.